UN studying NKorea sanctions

[xomputer]

The U.N. Security Council is studying how to respond to revelations about a new uranium enrichment plant in North Korea, as well as the country's shelling of a populated island in neighboring South Korea, U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice said Monday.

Rice spoke after the powerful 15-member group held routine consultations on U.N. sanctions against communist-led North Korea. The United States is one of the council's five permanent, and most powerful, members.

She said the that council's concerns about North Korea's nuclear activities have been heightened by its attack last week on Yeonpyeong, an island under U.N. command and administered by South Korea. Two South Korean marines and two civilians were killed in the shelling.

Rice said the U.S. and other council members were holding consultations with China, another permanent member of the council, and other countries in the region.

"We've looked to China to play a responsible leadership role in working to maintain peace and security in that region," the U.S. ambassador said. "It's in China's interest."

"We continue to call on North Korea to cease its irresponsible actions against its neighbors, to fully abide by the terms of the armistice, and to adhere to its international obligations," said Rice. "We will continue to work with the international community to maintain peace and security in this region as we simultaneously confront the threat posed by North Korea's ongoing nuclear activities."

International worries about North Korea's nuclear weapons program sharpened earlier this month after a U.S. nuclear scientist reported visiting a new sophisticated uranium enrichment plant that could improve its ability to make and deliver nuclear weapons. The situation was made more critical after North Korea shelled the South Korean island.

The Security Council imposed economic and commercial sanctions on North Korea in 2006 after the country claimed to have held a nuclear test. It bars North Korea from holding any additional nuclear tests and demands the suspension of any existing nuclear program, with a review to be held every 90 days.

 

[Revere]

Tell us something the US Security Council has done to demonstrate they are "powerful."

 

[waltky]

Granny says, "Dat's right - dat's how to deal with Fatboy Kim...

UN Further Tightens North Korea Sanctions
Dec 01, 2016 | UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. Security Council voted Wednesday to further tighten sanctions on North Korea following months of diplomatic wrangling.

The U.N. Security Council voted Wednesday to further tighten sanctions on North Korea following months of diplomatic wrangling over how best to respond to North Korea's latest nuclear test in September and their repeated defiance of international sanctions and diplomatic pressure. The council unanimously approved the sanctions resolution with diplomats hailing it as a major step forward in its efforts to get the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to abandon its nuclear ambitions. "In March, this council passed what were then the toughest sanctions to date on the DPRK. But the DPRK remained as determined as ever to continue advancing its nuclear technology. The DPRK found ways to continue diverting revenue from exports to fund its research, it tried to cover up its business dealings abroad, and it looked for openings to smuggle illicit materials by land, sea, and air. U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power said following the vote. "Today's resolution systematically goes after each of these illicit schemes."

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon speaks during a Security Council meeting at U.N. headquarters.​

The new sanctions target North Korea's hard currency revenues by placing a cap on coal exports, cutting them by at least 62 percent or by an estimated $800 million. The new sanctions further clarify that the "livelihood" exemption, which allowed the Chinese imports, is meant only to protect the livelihoods of those currently living inside North Korea, not Chinese people or companies doing business with the country. The sanctions also slap a ban on North Korea's exports of non-ferrous metals and sanction 11 government officials as well as 10 entities linked to the country's nuclear weapons program. The sanctions include a host of other measures cracking down on the country's access to the international banking system and on North Korea's export of statues, which have earned the country hard currency mostly through sales to African nations.

The resolution also threatens, for the first time, to suspend some or all of North Korea's U.N. privileges if it does not comply. North Korea's main ally and largest trade partner, China hailed the sanctions as striking a balance between punishing the rogue nation and protecting its people. "The resolution adopted by the council today demonstrates the uniform stand of the international community against the development by DPRK of its nuclear missile programs and forward the maintenance of the international non-proliferation regime," China's Ambassador Liu Jieyi said, adding that the measures "are not intended to produce negative consequences on DPRK's humanitarian situation."

MORE

See also:

Few Expect New UN Sanctions to Deter North Korea
December 01, 2016 — U.S. allies in East Asia on Thursday welcomed the incrementally tougher sanctions imposed on North Korea by the United Nations Security Council, but few in the region expect these new measures to deter the Kim Jong Un government.

Japanese Prime Minster Shinzo Abe put out a statement of support for the new council resolution saying it, “reflects the international community’s intention to take tough measures that are in a completely different dimension from past ones.” The South Korean government urged North Korea to heed the international community’s warning to halt its nuclear program or face further consequences. “It will not only face more economic difficulties and diplomatic isolation, but it would also see its rights and privileges as a member of the U.N. suspended,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Cho June-hyuck. The South Korean government also announced it would impose additional unilateral sanctions as well.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un waves at parade participants at the Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea.​

Fifth nuclear test

The Security Council has imposed several rounds of increasingly harsh, targeted sanctions on North Korea since 2006. Diplomats said the measures have slowed North Korea’s march toward a nuclear weapon, but have so far failed to induce Pyongyang to abandon its atomic ambitions. This new round of economic sanctions, imposed against North Korea for its fifth nuclear test conducted September 9, was unanimously endorsed by the 15 members of the council that includes Pyongyang’s key allies China and Russia.

The latest measures seek to further tighten past restrictions and include:

* Caps on the country’s coal exports and expanding a mineral trade ban that could deprive the Kim government of an estimated $800 million a year in revenue.
* Additional financial restrictions, requiring foreign banks to cease operations inside North Korea and mandating the expulsion of North Korean financial officials from outside countries.
* Blacklisting 11 more North Korean officials and 10 more organizations suspected of involvement in the country’s nuclear program, conventional arms trade or coal sector.
* Prohibitions on the sale of new vessels and helicopters to North Korea and requiring other U.N. members to deflag any North Korean vessels that are registered in their countries.

Nuclear state

 

[waltky]

Merkel offers to broker No. Korean nuclear deal...

North Korea warns U.S. will pay due price for spearheading U.N. sanctions
September 10, 2017 - North Korea warned on Monday the United States would pay a “due price” for spearheading a U.N. Security Council resolution against its latest nuclear test, as Washington presses for a vote on a draft resolution imposing more sanctions on Pyongyang.

South Korean officials have said after the North’s sixth nuclear test on Sept. 3, which it said was of an advanced hydrogen bomb, that it could launch another intercontinental ballistic missile in defiance of international pressure. The United States wants the Security Council to impose an oil embargo on the North, halt its key export of textiles and subject leader Kim Jong Un to financial and travel ban, according to a draft resolution seen by Reuters.

The North’s Foreign Ministry spokesman said the United States was “going frantic” to manipulate the Security Council over Pyongyang’s nuclear test, which it said was part of “legitimate self-defensive measures.” “In case the U.S. eventually does rig up the illegal and unlawful ‘resolution’ on harsher sanctions, the DPRK shall make absolutely sure that the U.S. pays due price,” the spokesman said in a statement carried by the official KCNA news agency.

DPRK is short for the North’s formal name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. “The world will witness how the DPRK tames the U.S. gangsters by taking a series of actions tougher than they have ever envisaged,” the unnamed spokesman said. “The DPRK has developed and perfected the super-powerful thermo-nuclear weapon as a means to deter the ever-increasing hostile moves and nuclear threat of the U.S. and defuse the danger of nuclear war looming over the Korean peninsula and the region.”

There was no independent verification of the North’s claim to have conducted a hydrogen bomb test, but some experts said there was enough strong evidence to suggest Pyongyang had either developed a hydrogen bomb or was getting close. KCNA said on Sunday that Kim threw a banquet to laud the scientists and top military and party officials who contributed to the nuclear bomb test, topped with an art performance and a photo session with the leader himself.

North Korea's Kim Jong Un fetes nuclear scientists, holds celebration bash

See also:

Merkel offers German role in Iran-style nuclear talks with North Korea
Sunday 10 September 2017 - Chancellor says deal with Tehran could be a blueprint for a process in which Germany and Europe would play a very active part

Angela Merkel has offered German participation in any future nuclear talks with North Korea and suggested that the 2015 agreement with Iran could serve as a model for negotiations. The chancellor’s intervention reflects growing alarm in Europe that Donald Trump is worsening one nuclear crisis by repeated threats to use military force against North Korea, and seeking to trigger a second one by torpedoing the Iran deal to which Germany, France and the UK are among the signatories. "If our participation in talks is desired, I will immediately say yes,” Merkel told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung in an interview published on Sunday.

She pointed to the example of the agreement sealed in Vienna in July 2015 by Iran, the five permanent members of the UN security council and Germany, describing it as “a long but important time of diplomacy” that ultimately had a good end. “I could imagine such a format being used to end the North Korea conflict. Europe and especially Germany should be prepared to play a very active part in that,” Merkel said. In exchange for sanctions relief under the Vienna deal, Iran accepted strict limits on its nuclear programme as a reassurance to the international community that it could never build a bomb. North Korea, on the other hand, is believed to already have a nuclear arsenal which it insists is not up for negotiation.

Kim Jong-un hosted an elaborate banquet in Pyongyang over the weekend for military leaders, scientists and technicians to celebrate the country’s sixth and most powerful nuclear test. The regime says the underground blast on 3 September was a two-stage thermonuclear device, or hydrogen bomb. The state news agency, KCNA, published photographs on Sunday showing Kim beaming with two of the scientific minds behind the country’s surprisingly fast progress - Ri Hong Sop, the head of the country’s nuclear weapons institute, and Hong Sung Mu, the deputy director of the ruling party’s munitions industry department. The UN security council will convene on Monday to consider a US resolution that would impose an embargo on oil exports to North Korea and technical imports from the embattled state, as well as a partial naval blockade giving UN member states the right to board and inspect ships suspected of sanctions-busting.

China and Russia are expected to try to water down the resolution, while European council members are nervous that the Trump administration could consequently abandon the council as a forum for dealing with the North Korea crisis if it does not get its way. “I think the Europeans worry about the US going off the deep end,” said Richard Gowan, a UN expert at the European Council on Foreign Relations. European anxiety has already been aroused by Trump’s repeated emphasis on a possible military solution of last resort to contain North Korea, which many analysts fear increases the chance of miscalculation and a preemptive strike by either side.

MORE

Related:

North Korea defector 'proud' of nukes, says Kim would rather die than give up
Sept. 8, 2017 - This is the first of a series chronicling the changing views of North Korean defectors at a time of heightened tensions .

A North Korean defector told UPI in an interview in Seoul that he hates Kim Jong Un -- but he hates his new life in South Korea more. The former deputy chief at Pyongyang's Ministry of People's Security, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said he is proud of North Korea's nuclear weapons. The country conducted its sixth nuclear test on Sunday. While he did not express a desire to return, the man said he has become disillusioned with South Korea after resettling in 2012. He joins a growing plurality of views as more North Koreans resettle in the South and share more insights into the workings of the Kim regime. The middle-age defector said Pyongyang's elites remain loyal to Kim because they "reap benefits" from the state. He still has family with elite status in the North, including a son serving in the North Korean army.

Some of the most public defectors -- Shin Dong-hyuk, Kang Chol-hwan and Lee Hyun-seo, among others, have spoken out about human rights abuses, economic deprivation and increasing troubles the regime faces as it struggles to stay in power. Others decry discrimination against defectors in South Korea and the stark cultural differences they find there. Five years into his resettlement, the defector says the social environment is so different from the North that calls for unification no longer ring true for him. "It's better there is no unification," he said. "If unification takes place now, only civil war and chaos would erupt," as South Korea is not ready to deal with a flood of refugees coming to Seoul in the event of the Kim regime's collapse. He said discrimination is an obstacle and his fellow defectors struggle in menial jobs.

People take a look at radiation levels at the state-run Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety in Gangneung, on South Korea's eastern coast, on Monday, the day after North Korea detonated a hydrogen bomb.​

It is frosty indifference that is the greatest barrier to adjustment, he said, suggesting the real "nuclear" catastrophe on the peninsula has already happened with the nuclearization of Korean lives. South Koreans "take no interest in your life," he said. "There is not one person who wants to be your friend. In apartment buildings here, they do not even know who their next-door neighbors are." By contrast, in North Korean apartment communities, families "gather on the rooftop to play together, drink soju together and eat," he said. "In South Korea you cannot have that kind of enjoyment. South Koreans only seek you out when they need you." He also criticized South Korea's politics. "South Korea has no ideology of its own," he said. "I came hoping to contribute to the healing of a divided country...but after living here I think it's accurate to say South Koreans are [American] puppets," he added, using the term commonly used to refer to South Korea in North Korea propaganda.

He also said South Koreans fear being at odds with the United States. "That's why Americans don't even regard [South] Koreans as human beings, or Asians in general," he said.Days before, news reports of the rally of white nationalist and other right-wing groups in Charlottesville, Va., was a top news story in Korea. "North Koreans have more pride than South Koreans," he said. "They have reason to say they want to go back to the North." Defectors, however, rarely opt to return because of the risks of punishment. Claims of rape and torture have come to light in memoirs, testimonies before the United Nations and countless press conferences in Seoul and Washington, D.C. But even those claims, he said, are not entirely reflective of North Korean reality. "There's too much focus on North Korea's human rights abuses, too little on how it is a society constructed for the people," he said, adding the defectors who expose human rights violations represent the worst of North Korean society. "If you only bring together people who spent time in prison, all you get is the gutter," he said, adding that many defector testimonies in United Nations Commission of Inquiry reports are "lies." "They should all be put away."

MORE

 

[waltky]

China enforces sanctions against No. Korea...

China limits oil trade to North Korea and bans textile trade
23 Sept.`17 - China has moved to limit North Korea's oil supply and will stop buying textiles from the politically isolated nation, it said on Saturday.

China is North Korea's most important trading partner, and one of its only sources of hard currency. The ban on textiles trade will hurt Pyongyang's income, while China's oil exports are the country's main source of petroleum products. The tougher stance follows North Korea's latest nuclear test this month. The United Nations agreed fresh sanctions - including the textiles and petroleum restrictions - in response. A statement from China's commerce ministry said restrictions on refined petroleum products would apply from 1 October, and on liquefied natural gas immediately.

A limited amount, allowed under the UN resolution, would still be exported to North Korea. The current volume of trade between the two countries - and how much the new limits reduce it by - is not yet clear. But the ban on textiles - Pyongyang's second-biggest export - is expected to cost the country more than $700m (£530m) a year. China and Russia had initially opposed a proposal from the United States to completely ban oil exports, but later agreed to the reduced measures. North Korea has little energy production of its own, but does refine some petroleum products from crude oil it imports - which is not included in the new ban.

Petrol prices are on the rise in Pyongyang​

The AFP news agency reports that petrol prices in Pyongyang have risen by about 20% in the past two months. "It was $1.90 yesterday, today it is $2," a petrol station employee told the agency. "I expect the price will go up in the future." North Korea also produces coal, some $1.2bn of which was exported to China in 2016, but China had already strictly limited its imports of North Korean coal earlier this year. North Korea's foreign minister is expected to speak at the United Nations General Assembly later on Saturday, amid an escalating war of words between Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump. The North Korean leader earlier labelled Mr Trump "mentally deranged" and a "dotard" while Mr Trump labelled Mr Kim a "madman" in response. Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said the row was "like when children in a kindergarten start fighting and no-one can stop them". Mr Lavrov said a pause was needed, "to calm down the hotheads".

The pair were at odds over President Trump's speech at the United Nations General Assembly, in which he threatened to "totally destroy" North Korea if forced to do so in defence of the US or its allies. He also mocked Kim Jong-un with a disparaging nickname, saying: "Rocket man is on a suicide mission." But the North Korean leader said remarks by the "deranged" US president convinced him he is right to develop weapons for North Korea. In an unprecedented personal statement, Mr Kim said Mr Trump would "pay dearly" for his speech, which he labelled "unprecedented rude nonsense". He said Mr Trump had insulted his country in the eyes of the world, and threatened to "surely and definitely tame the mentally deranged US dotard with fire." Experts say this is the first time a North Korean leader has made a direct address to an international audience - and it merits serious and thorough consideration.

China slashes trade ties with North Korea

 

[Gracie]

Fatboy brought all this on himself. Now he can deal with the consequences. Glad China and Russia finally decided to spank the brat publically.

 

[José]

Fatboy brought all this on himself. Now he can deal with the consequences. Glad China and Russia finally decided to spank the brat publically.

Far be it from me to defend nuclear proliferation let alone a communist, stalinist state that makes China looks like an open society, but at least one of the arguments he constantly uses makes a lot of sense:

"Qaddafi surrendered his entire nuclear program to the international community and look what happened to him."

 

[AVISSSER]

Fatboy brought all this on himself. Now he can deal with the consequences. Glad China and Russia finally decided to spank the brat publically.

Far be it from me to defend nuclear proliferation let alone a communist, stalinist state that makes China looks like an open society, but at least one of the arguments he constantly uses makes a lot of sense:

"Qaddafi surrendered his entire nuclear program to the international community and look what happened to him."

Absolutely correct. However, he is going about this the wrong way. He should take refuge in his Chinese overlords. He should go to them with hat in hand, get back in their good graces and stop this silliness with the missile launches. This is all far far from irreparable.

 

[AVISSSER]

Merkel offers to broker No. Korean nuclear deal...

North Korea warns U.S. will pay due price for spearheading U.N. sanctions
September 10, 2017 - North Korea warned on Monday the United States would pay a “due price” for spearheading a U.N. Security Council resolution against its latest nuclear test, as Washington presses for a vote on a draft resolution imposing more sanctions on Pyongyang.

South Korean officials have said after the North’s sixth nuclear test on Sept. 3, which it said was of an advanced hydrogen bomb, that it could launch another intercontinental ballistic missile in defiance of international pressure. The United States wants the Security Council to impose an oil embargo on the North, halt its key export of textiles and subject leader Kim Jong Un to financial and travel ban, according to a draft resolution seen by Reuters.

The North’s Foreign Ministry spokesman said the United States was “going frantic” to manipulate the Security Council over Pyongyang’s nuclear test, which it said was part of “legitimate self-defensive measures.” “In case the U.S. eventually does rig up the illegal and unlawful ‘resolution’ on harsher sanctions, the DPRK shall make absolutely sure that the U.S. pays due price,” the spokesman said in a statement carried by the official KCNA news agency.

DPRK is short for the North’s formal name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. “The world will witness how the DPRK tames the U.S. gangsters by taking a series of actions tougher than they have ever envisaged,” the unnamed spokesman said. “The DPRK has developed and perfected the super-powerful thermo-nuclear weapon as a means to deter the ever-increasing hostile moves and nuclear threat of the U.S. and defuse the danger of nuclear war looming over the Korean peninsula and the region.”

There was no independent verification of the North’s claim to have conducted a hydrogen bomb test, but some experts said there was enough strong evidence to suggest Pyongyang had either developed a hydrogen bomb or was getting close. KCNA said on Sunday that Kim threw a banquet to laud the scientists and top military and party officials who contributed to the nuclear bomb test, topped with an art performance and a photo session with the leader himself.

North Korea's Kim Jong Un fetes nuclear scientists, holds celebration bash

See also:

Merkel offers German role in Iran-style nuclear talks with North Korea
Sunday 10 September 2017 - Chancellor says deal with Tehran could be a blueprint for a process in which Germany and Europe would play a very active part

Angela Merkel has offered German participation in any future nuclear talks with North Korea and suggested that the 2015 agreement with Iran could serve as a model for negotiations. The chancellor’s intervention reflects growing alarm in Europe that Donald Trump is worsening one nuclear crisis by repeated threats to use military force against North Korea, and seeking to trigger a second one by torpedoing the Iran deal to which Germany, France and the UK are among the signatories. "If our participation in talks is desired, I will immediately say yes,” Merkel told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung in an interview published on Sunday.

She pointed to the example of the agreement sealed in Vienna in July 2015 by Iran, the five permanent members of the UN security council and Germany, describing it as “a long but important time of diplomacy” that ultimately had a good end. “I could imagine such a format being used to end the North Korea conflict. Europe and especially Germany should be prepared to play a very active part in that,” Merkel said. In exchange for sanctions relief under the Vienna deal, Iran accepted strict limits on its nuclear programme as a reassurance to the international community that it could never build a bomb. North Korea, on the other hand, is believed to already have a nuclear arsenal which it insists is not up for negotiation.

Kim Jong-un hosted an elaborate banquet in Pyongyang over the weekend for military leaders, scientists and technicians to celebrate the country’s sixth and most powerful nuclear test. The regime says the underground blast on 3 September was a two-stage thermonuclear device, or hydrogen bomb. The state news agency, KCNA, published photographs on Sunday showing Kim beaming with two of the scientific minds behind the country’s surprisingly fast progress - Ri Hong Sop, the head of the country’s nuclear weapons institute, and Hong Sung Mu, the deputy director of the ruling party’s munitions industry department. The UN security council will convene on Monday to consider a US resolution that would impose an embargo on oil exports to North Korea and technical imports from the embattled state, as well as a partial naval blockade giving UN member states the right to board and inspect ships suspected of sanctions-busting.

China and Russia are expected to try to water down the resolution, while European council members are nervous that the Trump administration could consequently abandon the council as a forum for dealing with the North Korea crisis if it does not get its way. “I think the Europeans worry about the US going off the deep end,” said Richard Gowan, a UN expert at the European Council on Foreign Relations. European anxiety has already been aroused by Trump’s repeated emphasis on a possible military solution of last resort to contain North Korea, which many analysts fear increases the chance of miscalculation and a preemptive strike by either side.

MORE

Related:

North Korea defector 'proud' of nukes, says Kim would rather die than give up
Sept. 8, 2017 - This is the first of a series chronicling the changing views of North Korean defectors at a time of heightened tensions .

A North Korean defector told UPI in an interview in Seoul that he hates Kim Jong Un -- but he hates his new life in South Korea more. The former deputy chief at Pyongyang's Ministry of People's Security, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said he is proud of North Korea's nuclear weapons. The country conducted its sixth nuclear test on Sunday. While he did not express a desire to return, the man said he has become disillusioned with South Korea after resettling in 2012. He joins a growing plurality of views as more North Koreans resettle in the South and share more insights into the workings of the Kim regime. The middle-age defector said Pyongyang's elites remain loyal to Kim because they "reap benefits" from the state. He still has family with elite status in the North, including a son serving in the North Korean army.

Some of the most public defectors -- Shin Dong-hyuk, Kang Chol-hwan and Lee Hyun-seo, among others, have spoken out about human rights abuses, economic deprivation and increasing troubles the regime faces as it struggles to stay in power. Others decry discrimination against defectors in South Korea and the stark cultural differences they find there. Five years into his resettlement, the defector says the social environment is so different from the North that calls for unification no longer ring true for him. "It's better there is no unification," he said. "If unification takes place now, only civil war and chaos would erupt," as South Korea is not ready to deal with a flood of refugees coming to Seoul in the event of the Kim regime's collapse. He said discrimination is an obstacle and his fellow defectors struggle in menial jobs.

People take a look at radiation levels at the state-run Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety in Gangneung, on South Korea's eastern coast, on Monday, the day after North Korea detonated a hydrogen bomb.​

It is frosty indifference that is the greatest barrier to adjustment, he said, suggesting the real "nuclear" catastrophe on the peninsula has already happened with the nuclearization of Korean lives. South Koreans "take no interest in your life," he said. "There is not one person who wants to be your friend. In apartment buildings here, they do not even know who their next-door neighbors are." By contrast, in North Korean apartment communities, families "gather on the rooftop to play together, drink soju together and eat," he said. "In South Korea you cannot have that kind of enjoyment. South Koreans only seek you out when they need you." He also criticized South Korea's politics. "South Korea has no ideology of its own," he said. "I came hoping to contribute to the healing of a divided country...but after living here I think it's accurate to say South Koreans are [American] puppets," he added, using the term commonly used to refer to South Korea in North Korea propaganda.

He also said South Koreans fear being at odds with the United States. "That's why Americans don't even regard [South] Koreans as human beings, or Asians in general," he said.Days before, news reports of the rally of white nationalist and other right-wing groups in Charlottesville, Va., was a top news story in Korea. "North Koreans have more pride than South Koreans," he said. "They have reason to say they want to go back to the North." Defectors, however, rarely opt to return because of the risks of punishment. Claims of rape and torture have come to light in memoirs, testimonies before the United Nations and countless press conferences in Seoul and Washington, D.C. But even those claims, he said, are not entirely reflective of North Korean reality. "There's too much focus on North Korea's human rights abuses, too little on how it is a society constructed for the people," he said, adding the defectors who expose human rights violations represent the worst of North Korean society. "If you only bring together people who spent time in prison, all you get is the gutter," he said, adding that many defector testimonies in United Nations Commission of Inquiry reports are "lies." "They should all be put away."

MORE

The Germans? lol! That commie sow can't manage her own nation.

 

[waltky]

China not happy with new U.S. sanctions on North Korea...

China denounces new U.S. sanctions on North Korea
Nov. 22, 2017 -- China voiced its opposition to new U.S. sanctions on Wednesday, a day after the United States Treasury announced a blacklist of North Korean and Chinese firms.

Beijing's foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said the Chinese government views "unilateral sanctions" as "misconduct." During the regular press briefing, Lu also defended Chinese efforts in curbing North Korea, South Korean news service EDaily reported. "I would like to point out again China has consistently opposed the misconduct of other countries, or enforcing unilateral sanctions based on their own laws," Lu said.

The U.S. Treasury includes an embargo against Chinese trading companies that the United States says have helped North Korea circumvent existing sanctions. "These designations include companies that have engaged in trade with North Korea cumulatively worth hundreds of millions of dollars. We are also sanctioning the shipping and transportation companies, and their vessels, that facilitate North Korea's trade and its deceptive maneuvers," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has said.

China's foreign ministry said it has no issues with implementing international sanctions, and that the sanctions are being actively enforced. "If Chinese citizens or businesses violate laws in Chinese territory, we will investigate them strictly according to law," Lu said, suggesting the United States may be overstepping its boundaries in seeking out punitive measures against Chinese companies. "If other countries have information on these issues, we can share information and cooperate on pertinent problems." One individual, 13 entities and 20 vessels were included on the Treasury's blacklist. One of the Chinese companies under sanctions, Dandong Dongyuan Industrial Co., is suspected of supplying North Korea with equipment and parts related to the development of nuclear bombs and ballistic missiles. China may be struggling with North Korea and efforts at diplomacy.

Chinese President Xi Jinping's envoy to Pyongyang, Song Tao, met with top North Korean officials Choe Ryong Hae and Ri Su Yong. But he may have not met with Kim Jong Un, the South China Morning Post reported. Yoo Seung-min, a South Korean opposition party lawmaker, said Wednesday North Korea's snub of China's envoy is a sign Beijing should move in coordination with the United States, including on sanctions, South Korean news service Newsis reported.

China denounces new U.S. sanctions on North Korea

See also:

Report: China asked South Korea to build THAAD wall
Nov. 23, 2017 -- China may have asked South Korea to build a wall to block a U.S. missile defense system from monitoring Chinese military movements.

The request from Beijing comes at a time when Seoul is preparing for a summit between President Moon Jae-in and Chinese President Xi Jinping, Munhwa Ilbo reported Thursday. Multiple South Korean diplomatic sources are not sure how the request could be met, as the deployment of THAAD, or Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, was a joint decision with the United States. "The Chinese side is demanding the installation of a barrier to block the THAAD radar, although this is not a decision to be made by [the South Korean] government," the Munhwa's sources said.

The South Korean newspaper's sources also said the requests began as early as July, when China was engaged in unofficial sanctions against South Korean companies operating in the world's second-largest economy. On Wednesday Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with his South Korean counterpart Kang Kyung-hwa in Beijing. According to Beijing's foreign ministry, China remains opposed to THAAD deployment, but Seoul and Beijing agreed to take a "step-by-step" approach to the THAAD problem.

Ahead of the meeting, Seoul and Beijing had agreed there would be no additional THAAD deployment, no South Korean participation in a potential U.S. missile defense network, and no establishment of a trilateral alliance with the United States and Japan. Analysts have said Seoul agreed on the solution, in order to bring an end to Chinese economic retaliation. Moon and Xi are to meet in mid-December, according to South Korean newspaper Kyunghyang Shinmun.

Report: China asked South Korea to build THAAD wall

 

[waltky]

North Korean sanctions starting to pinch...

North Korean citizens feeling bite of international sanctions
Dec. 5, 2017 -- Dec. 5 The average North Korean is increasingly feeling the squeeze of international sanctions placed on the Pyongyang regime, the Asahi Shimbun reported Tuesday.

Citing various North Korea-related sources, the Japanese daily reported that the economic losses and waning inflow of foreign currency has worsened the divide between the working class and the privileged minority. The shortage of power is a clear example. While extravagant firework displays lit up the skies of the North Korean capital last week, celebrating the recent launch of the Hwaseong-14 ICBM, average Pyongyang residents have been experiencing a blackout.

The burden of economic sanctions has apparently driven Kim Jong Un to consume more alcohol, leading to inconsistencies in his instructions, Japanese media reported​

Most North Koreans can use electricity for just one to two hours a day, as fees have recently surged to unaffordable level, according to the sources. Radio Free Asia reported last month that electricity costs had skyrocketed 300 to 3,000 times in the North. Only the privileged class of high-ranking officials can turn on power between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. each day. Harsher living conditions have caused drug use to become rampant in many regional cities, a North Korean defector told Asahi Shimbun.

The report also says the high-ranking officials are also on edge. The burden of economic sanctions has apparently driven Kim Jong Un to consume more alcohol, leading to inconsistencies in his instructions. With Kim's track record in replacing or removing those who irk or disobey him, even those in his closest circle are reportedly concerned they may irk the young leader.

North Korean citizens feeling bite of international sanctions

 

[waltky]

Granny says, "Dat's right - give Fatboy a taste o' some shock n' awe...

The US reportedly wants a limited strike on North Korea to give Kim Jong Un a 'bloody nose'
21 Dec.`17 - The US is considering a limited strike on North Korea to give Kim Jong Un a metaphorical "bloody nose," The Telegraph reported.; The US has plenty of options for delivering a short, sharp strike against North Korea that could deny it the ability to test and perfect; intercontinental ballistic missiles.; But a US attack on North Korea would be a gamble that a limited strike won't turn into all-out nuclear war.

After months of resolutely declaring that it cannot and will not tolerate a nuclear-armed North Korea, the US is reportedly planning a "bloody nose" attack to send Pyongyang a message. The Daily Telegraph cited "well-placed" sources as saying the Trump administration had "dramatically" stepped up preparations for a military response to North Korea's nuclear provocations.

Those possible responses include destroying a launch site before North Korea could test a missile and targeting a stockpile of weapons, according to The Telegraph. "The Pentagon is trying to find options that would allow them to punch the North Koreans in the nose, get their attention and show that we're serious," a former US security official briefed on policy told The Telegraph. The report said the Trump administration had the April 7 strike on a Syrian airfield in mind as a blueprint for the move against North Korea.

Attacking North Korea would make the Syria strike look easy

When US Navy ships fired 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at a Syrian airfield, President Donald Trump had the world's support in attacking a nation accused of using chemical weapons on its own people. Syria's military was already stretched thin fighting a civil war and multiple Islamist terrorist groups. The strike went virtually unpunished. But that most likely wouldn't be the case with a US strike on North Korea, which has a massive standing army and a military posture geared toward offense.

And there are practical reasons the US can't just blow up a North Korean missile launch site. As Jeffrey Lewis, the director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, said on Twitter, "Mobile missiles don't need launch sites, Donald." Instead of using designated launch sites, North Korea puts its missiles on mobile launchers, some of which have treads to launch from off-road locations. Lately, North Korea has varied its launch sites, most likely to make it harder for the US to track and possibly intercept missiles.

If the US wants to give you a bloody nose, nothing can stop it

See also:

U.N. Security Council poised to vote on tough new sanctions on N. Korea
December 22, 2017 -- The U.N. Security Council is meeting Friday to vote on whether to impose new sanctions on North Korea, including sharply cutting limits on its imports of refined oil, forcing all North Koreans working overseas to return home within 12 months and cracking down on the country's shipping.

The draft resolution circulated to all 15 council members Thursday wouldn't go as far as the toughest-ever sanctions that have been sought by the Trump administration, such as prohibiting all oil imports and freezing international assets of North Korea's government and its leader, Kim Jong Un. The resolution would cap North Korea's crude oil imports at 4 million barrels a year and limit its imports of refined oil products, including diesel and kerosene, to 500,000 barrels a year. That would be a nearly 90 percent cut in imported fuels that are key to North Korea's economy.

The draft, obtained by CBS News and The Associated Press, would prohibit the export of food products, machinery, electrical equipment, earth and stones, wood and vessels from North Korea. And it would ban all countries from exporting industrial equipment, machinery, transportation vehicles and industrial metals to the country. The proposed sanctions are the Security Council's response to Pyongyang's test on Nov. 29 of its most powerful intercontinental ballistic missile yet, which the government said is capable of hitting anywhere on the U.S. mainland. It was North Korea's 20th launch of a ballistic missile this year and added to fears that the North will soon have a nuclear arsenal that could viably target the U.S. mainland. The United States drafted the resolution and reportedly negotiated it with China before circulating the final text to the rest of the council.

The draft, if approved, would result in a significant decrease of income for the North Korean regime. The draft itself means China has come around to ratcheting up of pressure on Pyongyang, reports CBS News' Pamela Falk from the U.N. Separately, North Korea's foreign ministry said Friday that President Trump's newly-unveiled national security strategy is a "criminal document" that seeks the "total subordination of the whole world to the interests of the U.S.," the Reuters news agency reports. "This has fully revealed that 'America first policy' which the gang of Trump is crying out loudly about is nothing but the proclamation of aggression aimed at holding sway over the world according to its taste and at its own free will," a foreign ministry spokesman said, according to a statement released by state media outlet KCNA and cited by Reuters.

The last U.N. resolution imposing sanctions on North Korea was adopted Sept. 11 in response to North Korea's sixth and strongest nuclear test explosion eight days earlier. U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley said the Trump administration believed the new sanctions imposed at that time combined with previous measures would ban over 90 percent of North Korea's exports reported in 2016. Those sanctions prohibited North Korea from importing all natural gas liquids and condensates. It also banned all textile exports and prohibited any country from authorizing new work permits for North Korean workers -- two key sources of hard currency for the northeast Asian nation.

MORE

 

[waltky]

The Donald catches China red-handed allowing oil into No. Korea...

Trump accuses China of allowing oil into North Korea
Thu December 28, 2017 - "Caught RED HANDED - very disappointed that China is allowing oil to go into North Korea," Trump tweeted; A White House official and multiple National Security Council officials were unable to explain Trump's tweet

President Donald Trump said Thursday that he is "very disappointed" in China for allegedly selling oil to North Korea, tweeting that the on-again, off-again Trump ally was "caught red handed" allowing oil to be imported by the rogue regime. The tweet, which came as Trump was on his golf course in Palm Beach County, comes after outlets in South Korea reported that satellites have spotted Chinese ships transferring oil to North Korean vessels. Trump said that if this practice continues, there will "never be a friendly solution to the North Korea problem." White House official and multiple National Security Council officials were unable to explain the President's tweet and did not respond to questions about whether he was referring to the recent reports from South Korea.

"Caught RED HANDED - very disappointed that China is allowing oil to go into North Korea," Trump tweeted. "There will never be a friendly solution to the North Korea problem if this continues to happen!" The US Treasury Department announced in November that a series of North Korea shipping and trading companies had attempted to conduct a ship-to-ship transfer -- likely of oil -- to evade UN sanctions. The same photos released at the time were used by South Korean outlets in recent reports.

The Treasury statement came alongside the announcement of a series of sanctions against a range of North Korean entities and individuals. "As North Korea continues to threaten international peace and security, we are steadfast in our determination to maximize economic pressure to isolate it from outside sources of trade and revenue while exposing its evasive tactics," Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said at the time. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying denied that Chinese ships were found trading oil to North Korea. "I am not aware of what you mentioned," Chunying said. "China's relevant position remains unequivocal. I would like to reiterate that the Chinese government has been comprehensively, accurately, faithfully and strictly implementing the Security Council's DPRK-related resolutions. Our attitude is earnest and serious, and our measures and actions are forceful and effective."

She added: "If there is solid evidence proving that there is on the Chinese side any violation of the Security Council resolutions, China will surely deal with it in accordance with laws and regulations, and not a single case of violation should get away with it."
Trump has had a mixed strategy with China ever since stepping into the White House earlier this year. Though he has feted President Xi Jinping in the United States and traveled to China to meet with Xi, he has also openly criticized the country's trade policies and slammed China as having "no impact" on North Korea. Trump's key to North Korea, however, has long been China and his personal relationship with Xi.

Trump accuses China of allowing oil into North Korea - CNNPolitics

 

[Bleipriester]

The Donald catches China red-handed allowing oil into No. Korea...

Trump accuses China of allowing oil into North Korea
Thu December 28, 2017 - "Caught RED HANDED - very disappointed that China is allowing oil to go into North Korea," Trump tweeted; A White House official and multiple National Security Council officials were unable to explain Trump's tweet

President Donald Trump said Thursday that he is "very disappointed" in China for allegedly selling oil to North Korea, tweeting that the on-again, off-again Trump ally was "caught red handed" allowing oil to be imported by the rogue regime. The tweet, which came as Trump was on his golf course in Palm Beach County, comes after outlets in South Korea reported that satellites have spotted Chinese ships transferring oil to North Korean vessels. Trump said that if this practice continues, there will "never be a friendly solution to the North Korea problem." White House official and multiple National Security Council officials were unable to explain the President's tweet and did not respond to questions about whether he was referring to the recent reports from South Korea.

"Caught RED HANDED - very disappointed that China is allowing oil to go into North Korea," Trump tweeted. "There will never be a friendly solution to the North Korea problem if this continues to happen!" The US Treasury Department announced in November that a series of North Korea shipping and trading companies had attempted to conduct a ship-to-ship transfer -- likely of oil -- to evade UN sanctions. The same photos released at the time were used by South Korean outlets in recent reports.

The Treasury statement came alongside the announcement of a series of sanctions against a range of North Korean entities and individuals. "As North Korea continues to threaten international peace and security, we are steadfast in our determination to maximize economic pressure to isolate it from outside sources of trade and revenue while exposing its evasive tactics," Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said at the time. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying denied that Chinese ships were found trading oil to North Korea. "I am not aware of what you mentioned," Chunying said. "China's relevant position remains unequivocal. I would like to reiterate that the Chinese government has been comprehensively, accurately, faithfully and strictly implementing the Security Council's DPRK-related resolutions. Our attitude is earnest and serious, and our measures and actions are forceful and effective."

She added: "If there is solid evidence proving that there is on the Chinese side any violation of the Security Council resolutions, China will surely deal with it in accordance with laws and regulations, and not a single case of violation should get away with it."
Trump has had a mixed strategy with China ever since stepping into the White House earlier this year. Though he has feted President Xi Jinping in the United States and traveled to China to meet with Xi, he has also openly criticized the country's trade policies and slammed China as having "no impact" on North Korea. Trump's key to North Korea, however, has long been China and his personal relationship with Xi.

Trump accuses China of allowing oil into North Korea - CNNPolitics

Oh no! How about an Oil Embargo on the US?

 

[waltky]

So. Korea catches Chinese ship violating No. Korean sanctions...

South Korea Seizes Ship Suspected Of At-Sea Oil Transfer To Benefit North Korea
December 29, 2017 - South Korea has seized a Hong Kong-flagged vessel under suspicions that it illegally transferred oil to North Korea, in violation of U.N. sanctions. The vessel, the Lighthouse Winmore, was seized one month after it allegedly ferried oil, South Korean media report.

Such ship-to-ship transfers are prohibited by a U.N. Security Council Resolution that was adopted in September, part of a suite of sanctions that target North Korea over its nuclear and missile programs. The seizure and inspection took place in November, but it was reported only after South Korea's Chosun Ilbo newspaper published U.S. reconnaissance photos on Tuesday that were part of a U.S. Treasury Department announcement of sanctions on 20 North Korean vessels and six shipping and trading companies. The U.S. sanctions cited suspected ship-to-ship transfers of oil in international waters. The Chosun Ilbo reports that U.S. reconnaissance images had shown "Chinese ships selling oil to North Korean vessels on the West Sea around 30 times since October."

When the Treasury Department released reconnaissance images of an Oct. 19 rendezvous between two ships, the agency named the North Korean ship as the Rye Song Gang 1 — and included an image clearly showing the name on the vessel's hull. It did not identify the other, much larger, ship. Citing South Korean officials, the Yonhap news agency reports that the Lighthouse Winmore is suspected of transferring 600 tons of refined petroleum to a North Korean vessel on Oct. 19. The ship was seized in late November after it came into South Korea's port in Yeosu. It reportedly remains in custody.

U.S. reconnaissance images show a North Korean ship, the Rye Song Gang 1, conducting a ship-to-ship transfer, possibly of oil, in an effort to evade sanctions on Oct. 19. South Korea has seized a ship it suspects of participating in such transfers.​

From Yonhap: "The Hong Kong-flagged ship was chartered by Taiwanese company Billions Bunker Group and previously visited South Korea's Yeosu Port on Oct. 11 to load up on Japanese refined oil and head to its claimed destination in Taiwan, the authorities noted. "Instead of going to Taiwan, however, the vessel transferred the oil to a North Korean ship, the Sam Jong 2, and three other non-North Korean vessels in international waters, they said."

After the reconnaissance photos were publicized, President Trump tweeted, "Caught RED HANDED - very disappointed that China is allowing oil to go into North Korea. There will never be a friendly solution to the North Korea problem if this continues to happen!" On Friday, China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said that charges of Chinese ships sending oil to North Korea "do not accord with facts." As state-run Xinua media reports, "Hua said that China had immediately investigated the relevant ship and found that it has not docked in any Chinese ports and had no entry and departure records of Chinese ports since August." The U.S. has repeatedly called China a pivotal player in the effort to convince North Korea to rein in its nuclear program and ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula. Earlier this week, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called on China to "exert its decisive economic leverage on Pyongyang." Writing an op-ed piece for The New York Times, Tillerson added, "China has applied certain import bans and sanctions, but it could and should do more."

South Korea Seizes Ship Suspected Of At-Sea Oil Transfer To Benefit North Korea

 

[Bleipriester]

The Russians too